For anyone who doesn't know what Craigslist is, It's just like shopping on eBay, but it's for more local purchases such as in your hometown. I have to use the next metropolitan city that's only about 20 miles away because my hometown is a bit too small to be featured on Craigslist. I have never posted anything on the site personally, but my mother had great success posting a piano. She sold it within a week of the post! Does anyone else post on Craigslist?
I don't trust Craigslist. I'm sure incidents are few and far between, but I've heard too many weird horror stories to trust the thing. If it came down to sending someone something through the mail I'd be fine, but I don't want to meet up with some complete stranger and hope for the best. Good deals, no doubt, but too little security.
Buying on Craigslist trusting every offer is a recipe for disaster. You should always be careful about what you're buying and who you're buying it from. The items might be in worse condition than stated, or worse yet, the seller could be someone with the intent to hurt people. You can get great deals on Craigslist, just be extremely cautious.
I personally don't have a problem with craigslist. I have used it a number of times both to buy and sell and have never had a problem. It is hard to believe, but 95 percent of the people who use craigslist are normal everyday people. Just use common sense and meet people in a public place...I bought a riding lawn mower on there in 2011 and it runs like a top, great purchase!
With Craigslist being an American site, I've never used it as we don't have it in Botswana or the UK. I have heard some of the worst horror stories linked with the site, and I just don't like it at all. I know that that shouldn't be the basis for me writing it off, but I have I guess as with everything else, you just have to use common sense and always have your wits about you.
I am kind of half-hearted with Craiglist. I've gone through a number of the posts and some of them look too spammy to be credible. They don't even give you the details. I also have a problem with that site's communication system. Some companies or individuals don't disclose their contact information so you're left with little choice but to communicate with them through Craiglist. When I send an email to the custom address provided, though, I hardly get a response. Sometimes I wonder if it works at all.
I have had success with Craigslist, but I am always careful with the transactions and with how I present my own information. If I am selling something, I will arrange to meet the buyer somewhere very public to do the exchange. If I am buying something, I am cautious as well. There are plenty of legitimate business that gain clients through Craigslist, and I actually know someone who was hired to perform on Carnival Cruise lines through a Craigslist Ad. Many of the cities around here are setting up safe transaction parking spots for these very type of transactions. Some police departments are offering a couple of monitored parking spots so people can exchange goods knowing there is a safe place to do it.
I trust craigslist the least, but I don't "trust" any of them per se. I think when it comes to any site where you're meeting strangers so quickly after contact and with no background whatsoever, you need to exercise extreme caution. They're coming to your home, or your going to their's. Don't live in fear, but be wise, y'know?
I trust it but you just have to do a lot more research and investigation once the initial introduction has been done. You have to be diligent in finding out what you are getting into and since there is no feedback to rely on you will just have to wing it. I do trust it but only for smaller amounts of money. If what I was buying were expensive I'd probably first go to ebay or another big name site to be completely honest.
I do not trust or buy at craigslist. It is so dangerous and risky because you don't know who's advertising, you don't know if they're honest or not. There is no way of knowing, no reviews. Not only that, but it could be someone dangerous. I prefer not to take the risk.
I have purchased items from people on Craigslist and I have rented homes from people on Craigslist without ever having any kind of problems. I know there are weird people looking to do harm to people but I think Craigslist is like any thing else in life, you have to be careful and watch what you are doing.
I've bought and sold on Craigslist, but it's been a while since I've done so. It differs from sites like eBay in that on eBay, you at least can see how long the person/company has been on the site, as well as being able to somewhat discern their trustworthiness through the feedback rating and comments. Because of the many negative incidents that have originated with Craigslist posts, many police forces are offering their lobbies for these types of transactions, in an attempt to decrease the danger involved with meeting strangers to exchange items and money. If you're planning to buy or sell something small enough to be portable, it might be worth it to check with your local law enforcement agency to see if they have this type of policy.
I have posted on craigslist before items that I didn't have use for anymore or needed to get rid of and I had quite a bit success. Altho sometimes people on that site like to low ball and try to get something that is worth 500 bucks for like 100 bucks. And a lot of scammers try to get you to do the whole western union thing. So when it comes to this site you have to be very careful. I got tired of the site so I turned to the facebook pages that are just like craigslist but a lot easier and a lot more trust worthy it's harder to scam someone through these pages I feel.
I do trust it for the most part but it still scares me. Ever since I heard that story about a woman getting attacked when she went to pick up clothes from an ad on craigslist, I've been skeptical. But other than that, I haven't had any problems so there's no reason for me not to trust it.
Craiglist can be a great place to sell or buy a lot of things but you need to very cautious because there are too many psychos who pose as buyers or sellers. Pay not for anything unless you see it first and ensure you meet the sellers or buyers in a place where your safety is assured. Best not to take any risks when dealing with strangers.
I know logically that Craigslist can be a useful website in order to find certain things, and sell certain things. But as the above poster has already pointed out, anybody who uses Craigslist needs to be very careful in their dealings. I have seen so many murder documentaries involving people meeting up via Craigslist. I have no idea why it always seems to be Craigslist either.
I agree. I've used the Facebook Sales groups more than Craigslist or any other sales site lately, as well. With Facebook, you can check out the person's profile, and if it's brand new and doesn't have much on it, especially in the way of interactions with others, it can be a red flag, so you can avoid selling and buying with that person. I've noticed some of the Facebook groups seem to be worse than others with regard to scammers. If you're looking to get rid of things and aren't so much concerned about making money, try the 'online garage sale' type groups, because those people are looking to pay less. Personally, if I didn't care about the money, I'd just donate the items, rather than dealing with strangers. I had one guy recently who kept trying and trying for lower prices, freebies thrown in, etc.(not in that type of group), and I eventually blocked him because he was so annoying.
I buy and sell on craigslist pretty regularly and most of my experiences have been neutral to good. I am cautious but not paranoid. I have even gotten gig-work through craigslist ads and used it to hire someone to do my lawn care. It's important to take precautions for your safety - meet in a busy public place in a safe part of town, have a safe call in place. And precautions to avoid broken or stolen items - like making sure electronics actually work and verifying that the esn is good. Like on any buying or selling site, or even at a yard sale or flea market, beware of deals that seem too good to be true because the item may not work as expected or be stolen. I use a secondary cell phone too so I'm not giving people my main cell phone number.
Personally I have never bought or sold on Craigslist as there are so many other places these days. The problem is there are so many scams and unscrupulous people, it takes too much energy to figure out what maybe a good deal or not. As a seller I may use it, but again it has to be a big item that someone had to come and collect. Like ebay these things take time to answer emails, calls and texts and also giving out your personal information can be risky.
I think that ultimately it depends on what type of activities you are seeking or responding to, on Craigslist. Some people are just advertising items to be sold. Other people are looking to purchase items. And then there are the ads advertising physical jobs, which are the red flag for me.
